Supreme Court upholds 2-year sentence for man in infant son's death

Taipei, March 17 (CNA) A man who caused the death of his 4-month-old son by putting a bolster pillow on his face to stop him from crying and then hid the child's remains for six years, has been sentenced to two years in prison.

In a decision made public Tuesday, the Supreme Court said it had dismissed an appeal filed by the man, surnamed Huang (黃), after he was sentenced by the Taiwan High Court to two years in prison for negligent homicide and abandonment of a corpse.

The case dates back to March 2018, when Huang was taking care of the 4-month-old boy at home in Taichung while his wife, surnamed Yang (楊), was at work.

According to the indictment, after being unable to sleep due to his son's crying, Huang took a bolster pillow and put it over the baby's face to muffle the sound.

When Yang came home late that night, she found the child without vital signs. After waking up Huang, both tried unsuccessfully to revive the infant.

The pair did not report the baby's death, and instead kept his remains in a suitcase in their home.

Huang and Yang, who ultimately had four children, of which the deceased baby was the second, got divorced in December 2018 but continued living together until April 2023.

In late 2023, Huang dumped the suitcase containing the child's remains on a mountain slope in Keelung. The boy's death was only discovered by authorities in 2024, when he would have reached school age but did not report for first grade.

In a trial that followed at the Keelung District Court, Huang admitted to accidentally causing his son's death, expressed remorse, and said he had kept the remains because he wanted to keep his deceased son "by his side."

Yang testified on his behalf, saying she knew Huang had not purposely suffocated the child and regretted his actions.

The court largely sided with them, finding that Huang had caused the child's death in a "moment of thoughtlessness" and that he did not pose a risk of recidivism.

It sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for four years.

Following an appeal by prosecutors and a new trial at the Taiwan High Court, the court found that Huang had put a pillow on the baby's face, as well the faces of his other children multiple times, even after being warned not to by his wife.

The High Court said the lower court's ruling had overlooked Huang's harmful behavior and his likely intent to obstruct authorities regarding his son's death. It ruled that Huang's sentence should not be suspended, requiring him to spend two years in jail.

Although Huang appealed the ruling, the Supreme Court's dismissal means that the verdict is final.

Under Taiwan's Criminal Code, negligent homicide is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison, while abandonment of a corpse carries a penalty of between six months and five years in prison.